United shows off renovated terminal at IAH

Mayor Annise Parker and other civic and business leaders got a preview this morning of Terminal B’s renovated south concourse at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The $97 million south concourse will be open to limited flight operations over the next two weeks, with the first 15 gates planned to be fully operational by May 1, according to United Airlines, which will add 15 more gates by the end of the year.

“This modern and spacious new terminal is a significant investment in the future of George Bush Intercontinental as a major international hub,” Parker said in a statement.

The 225,000 square-foot facility — nearly four times the size as the previous south concourse — will be dedicated to United Express regional flights.

United officials said it will provide a better customer experience with modern and expanded gate-lounge areas, 17 food and beverage and retail concessions.

“Bush Intercontinental’s extensive connecting traffic makes it a premier international gateway and a key hub in United’s network,” Jim Compton, United’s vice chairman and chief revenue officer, said in a statement. “We’ve designed our newest terminal to offer travelers a more customer-friendly airport experience where they can relax in comfort or work with greater ease.”

The 17 concessions will include two new “celebrity-chef venues” with local and regional ties. They are chef Bryan Caswell’s 3rd Bar Oyster & Eating House and The Frutería, by chef Johnny Hernandez.

Other restaurants will include Whataburger, Bullrito’s and Barcuterie, which will sell cured meats and classic cheeses in a bar setting. Retailers will include the iStore Boutique, Brookstone, Natalie’s Candy Jar and The Body Shop.

Instead of building new terminal they need to work on customer service as United is probably the worst airline ever currently. What has happened to Cont
which was a great airline? This merger is sad as all they do is charge more and more and give less and less, really sad.

Sorta reminds me of that scene in The Princess Bride where Christopher Guest’s character drags Cary Elwes into the underground torture lab. Or any generic movie villain shows off their secret lair of torture.

“You have now lost one hour of your life. How do you feel?” — movie villain line, or United customer satisfaction survey?

This is one reason IAH is one of the most expensive airports to fly OUT of. Compare prices when departing from Houston — you can fly Austin to Houston to wherever at a LOWER PRICE than simply departing from Houston! All the fees and taxes tacked on are horrible. Thanks a lot, city of Houston, for making this a joke and a disgrace.

I thought United had balked at finising the terminal after their hissyfit over Southwest flying to South America. I hate that merger basically killed Continental ut the worst part is having tofly Delta occasionaly.

What happened? I thought the airlines were broke. That’s why they are overcharging along with fees for everything. I have no love for these vultures after they charged a friend $700 to fly to Houston from California to attend his father’s funeral. No such thing as a bereavement rate. They tore the wheels off my luggage and gave me a $25 voucher. I won’t be using their new terminal.

These are called “gates”??… there are no jetbridges at all… kind of cheap looking if you ask me. At least the OLD terminal B had actual jetbridges so you didn’t have to feel the heat and humdity as you walked off the plane.

Great, after I’m denied food on a 6-hour United flight and I land and get a meal from a celebrity chef. Lucky me. Continental was great — frequent upgrades, food, free checked bags. United took over and took everything away. United is terrible and no celebrity chefs can fix it.

Started flying Continental when Gordon Bethune led the company, saw a steady decline in quality and customer service under Larry Kellner. With Jeff Smisek it just nose dived, but still way better than United. Now the charm and goodwill that Continental customer service once inspired in a traveler, is gone, for good. Its the sad state of things.

The United bashing on chron.com comments is getting old (and no, I’m not an employee). Terminal B was outdated….the improvements were needed. I’m no expert, but having external jetways was probably more flexible in terms of space restrictions and different commuter jet and turboprop sizes and types. So you’re outside for a couple of minutes…waah.